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Disability costs and equivalence scales in the older population
- Authors:
- MORCIANO Marcello, HANCOCK Ruth, PUDNEY Stephen
- Publisher:
- Institute for Social and Economic Research
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 32p.
- Place of publication:
- Colchester
Disabled people face higher costs of living than do non-disabled people. These additional costs include the cost of adapting the home, overcoming the difficulties of getting about, and acquiring assistance with everyday tasks that non-disabled people can do unaided. This study estimated the implicit disability costs faced by older people, using data on over 8,000 individuals from the UK Family Resources Survey. It extended previous research by using a more flexible statistical modelling approach and by allowing for measurement error in observed disability and standard of living indicators. The study found that disability costs were strongly related to the severity of disability and to income, and at an average level of almost £100 per week among over-65s with significant disability they typically far exceed the value of any state disability benefits received.
The distributional impact of reforms to disability benefits for older people in the UK
- Authors:
- HANCOCK Ruth, PUDNEY Stephen
- Publisher:
- University of Essex. Institute for Social and Economic Research
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 26p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Colchester
The UK Attendance Allowance (AA) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) are non means-tested benefits paid to many disabled people aged 65 and over. They may also increase entitlements to means-tested benefits through the Severe Disability Premium (SDP). This report investigates proposed reforms involving the withdrawal of AA and DLA. It uses data from the Family Resources Survey to simulate the losses which current AA and DLA recipients would incur if AA and DLA were curtailed. It also considers the extent to which these losses could be mitigated if the SDP were to be retained or increased. It examines how average losses vary across the income distribution using different definitions of income and investigates the impact of potential reforms on the proportion of older people with incomes below various thresholds. The report finds that the abolition of AA and DLA would have a large impact on the poorer parts of the older population. Retaining or increasing the SDP within means-tested benefits could mitigate these losses to some extent. The report also shows the importance of the method of describing distributional impacts and that use of inappropriate income definitions in official reports has overstated recipients’ capacity to absorb the loss of these benefits.
Disability and poverty in later life
- Authors:
- HANCOCK Ruth, MORCIANO Marcello, PUDNEY Stephen
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 44
- Place of publication:
- London
This report explores the relationship between disability and poverty among the older population. It provides an overview of the current system of disability support for older people which involves both nationally-administered disability benefits of Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance, and local systems of social care provision. It then looks at measuring poverty, emphasising the additional living costs that disabled people face, and the importance of taking disability costs into account when making assessments. The report considers three scenarios for the system of public support within the existing level of government spending which involve changes to levels of mean-testing and reach of support. It casts doubt on some of the suggestions that have been made for improving the targeting of public support for older disabled people. The report concludes that: effective targeting does not necessarily require an extension of means-testing; the present benefit and social care system is reasonably well-targeted, but falls far short of full support for the most severely disabled; there is a case for tailoring the structure of disability benefits more closely to the severity of disability; and there is a need for caution in considering proposals that would scrap national disability benefits in favour of an expansion of local authority social care funding. (Edited publisher abstract)